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Florence Nightingale "had a principled objection to having her likeness taken," annotating Ecclesiastes 12, viii ("Vanity of vanities") in her Bible with the words, "and the vanity of vanities — the idolatry of our fellow-mortals" (qtd. in Bostridge 266). However, she made one of her rare exceptions for Sir John Steell because his work was done at the request of the British Army and funded by ordinary servicemen. Her family considered the result to be "the best artistic likeness of her." It was viewed in Steell's studio by many grateful soldiers, as well as by the loved ones of those who did not return from the Crimea (Bostridge 266), and now stands for all to see near the ticket-desk of the museum devoted to her memory. The bust is shown off to advantage by the red background.